House of Zenith "Avenue" New 12" Resin Doll

On March 11, Superdoll released this photo of Avenue for whom I had already pre-paid. I was looking forward to getting one of the first dolls in their new 12" line, House of Zenith.  I based my decision on the success of Solitaire, the first GenX doll who was pretty and had an adorable outfit and vibe. My thinking was very wrong.

  

I hesitated writing a review for much longer than I normally would as the creators of this doll will not like what I say here but I have to tell the truth and it's my opinion anyway. I know some out there like Avenue and I'm sincerely happy for them. Personally, I will never buy a doll sight unseen from Superdoll again. 

I don't know why I cannot find any photos I took of her in her original state. That's very odd. I'm pretty sure I shot a few, at least. Did I delete them? I'll have to hunt the internet as it's entirely possible that I posted and then deleted the images from my camera.

I am not sure that this is my own photo. 

When the doll arrived, I disliked her look in many ways. Her wig had the texture of straw. The black throw around her shoulders shed all over her yellow dress. I did not like the way the skirt hung on her body. The 'drape' was bad. The pleats were crooked, uneven and did not appear to be sewn properly.

Not shown are the shoes, the handbag, and the head-piece.

I tried to sell her for exactly what it cost me and there wasn't a single taker.

With the wig removed it made a major improvement. She does have a nice face and I like the eye make-up. 

Superdoll skimped on the joints and the details. Look at this photo which compares, side by side, a Dominion Doll, a House of Zenith Doll and a Monarch Doll. Monarch is 12" tall. 

I chose not to have my Dominion doll (left) strongly body blushed and the Monarch Doll (right) has natural-looking blushing. Avenue's blushing is exaggerated.  She has no underbust joint and her knees have only one joint. There is no thigh or ankle joint. She does not have a matte finish and she didn't come with a stand. They should have just made her from vinyl. She looks it.

Avenue (left) vs. Fashion Royalty body.

One has to wonder if this doll was rushed through to make some sort of deadline. 

What she does have going for her is that her feet fit into FR shoes. No doll is perfect but Avenue made me regret my purchase and she was not an inexpensive mistake. She also made me appreciate more the quality, artistry, and attention to detail of the Monarch and Dominion dolls. Vinyl Fashion Royalty dolls are made better. 

I will make the best of it by dressing her in pretty clothes and wigs and never buying another one.

OLE!

I purchased a separate Superdoll boxed fashion for Avenue and I think it is lovely.

Below is a Rimdoll fashion. Wigs above and below by Culte de Paris. 

 

Fashion Royalty "Female Icon" by Vasilen Milkov

Vasilen Milkov won, for a second time, the design competition held by Integrity Toys this year. He called his entry "Female Icon" Dasha d'Amboise.
The design was "voted upon by the W Club members and has gone through various adjustments to make it production ready while preserving the spirit of Vasilen's original design."
W Club members were able to begin ordering, with no limits, on April 29. The price for members is $150. It will go up to $160. to the general public.

The Story:

The elusive Dasha D'Amboise takes a break from her newfound movie career to make a rare appearance at her favorite designer's ultra-edgy fashion extravaganza. Wearing one of the most talked about looks of the House of Milkov, Dasha makes an entrance that everyone will remember!

Included:

• 12" fully articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Delicately pleated, flowing one-piece dress;
• Luxurious tweed bolero;
• Couture hat and scarf;
• Opera length, fine mesh gloves;
• Thigh-high, high-shine, black patent leather boots;
• Contrasting leopard print purse with powder blue faux-fur appliqué;
• Oversized faux-emerald earrings;
• Three broaches;
• Red ankle boots;
• Two pairs of hands;
• Doll stand;

Special note about hairstyle: Please note that this hairstyle is designed to be a chignon. We cannot guarantee that the head will be fully rooted if you decide to take it down.

Integrity Toys' New Reveal: The Monarchs Homme Collection

Members of the W Club received an email regarding Integrity's new male doll line called The Monarchs Homme. No, there is no relation to Kingdom Doll's Monarchs and IMO it's a shame that they chose to call these dolls Monarchs.

I've always said that no one has ever created better dressed 1/6 scale male dolls than Integrity and this line does not disappoint. I must say they these guys are at the cliff's rim of edginess. If I were collecting guy dolls, I'd be interested in one or two for sure. I do love most of the fashions. They're fabulous.

Most edition sizes are surprisingly large at 725 each. But, Elias Veiga's is LE 500 and Romain Perrin's edition size is TBD.  (To Be Decided.)  Hmmm.
The prices are fairly high at $175.00 plus s&h.
Two of the dolls will be offered via right-to-buy lottery and the rest via authorized dealers.

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Noah Faraday formerly Ace McFly
Lottery

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Tenzin Dahkling

 Tenzin's hair reminds me of Kim Jong Un's. It's a bit out there as is his fashion, but he carries it off.

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Tobias Alsford

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Declan Wake

 I like this one...maybe not the hair curl so much but the outfit is great.

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Elias Veiga Formerly Perry

The vampire is back. Why don't they put this sculpt to bed already? 

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Romain Perrin
Lottery

 I like his sculpt - it's one of the oldies but goodies. Again, I'm not a fan of the hairdo and the van Dyck era (late 1599-1641) facial hair is not attractive. 

His saving grace is his great outfit and cool camera accessories. I need that camera. It's really cute. It's my favorite thing.

If you do a search for "The Monarchs" on Google, you can come up with lots of interesting things:

Music bands and songs, Yugioh cards, Butterflies, Explanation of what a monarchy is, Bars, Bridges, and more. For example, here are The Monarchs and if you've a mind to, you can get tickets for their Reunion Concert at The Calumet Lake Events Plaza in Jasper, Indiana for Saturday, April 27, 2019. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-monarchs-tickets-55579752536

Listen to their hit song "Look Homeward Angel." It's very pleasant.

https://youtu.be/yAOUrxfzG9s

Photos of my Lovely Little 'La Scala Georgiana'

I've been so busy posting photos on Facebook boards that I've neglected this blog. Today, I'll make up for that.
In all of these photos, the fashions are from other 1/6 scale dolls or made for them by individuals. I love that she can wear Silkstone and Integrity gowns and dresses.

My Beautiful Kingdom Doll, Envy

Here are two new photos of this beautiful doll.
She is wearing a wig made by Chewin.
Her red velvet gown is Sybarite Fidele's. The faux fur stole is by Integrity Toys.
The necklaces are by Kingdom Doll and the earrings may be Franklin Mint.
The background is a Tonner Evangeline or Ellowyne mirror.

I really like the black and white version because it shows the highlights and they seem to glow. I love being able to see the back of her wig as well. 

Pretty Pictures

Tyler in "Swept Away" by Robert Tonner from his Theatre de la Mode line.

This silk gown is possibly the most sought after TDLM fashion ever produced. It's a work of art. In essence, it reminds me of some of Charles James' sculpted gowns. One main difference is that Swept Away does not have any the understructure found in many of CJ's fashions.
Below are two of my photos of doll-sized James' fashions developed by Sandra Stillwell for the Taste of Manhattan Convention.

The very beautiful Kingdom Doll, Logan: